Divots & Pitchmarks

rgs

rgs

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Why is it that players nowadays are failing to repair pitchmarks and divots and the biggest culprits are generally club members.

When i was a teenager just starting the game i got great pleasure on reaching the green and being in a position to repair my pitchmark.
Now i reach a green and start repairing a number of pitchmarks.
My brother, member of same club, was playing in a matchplay game recently and both players repaired over 10 pitchmarks on the one green.

I can accept that divots are removed by hungry birds lookng for worms but there is no excuse in not replacing the divot.
It a simple and painless process and helps maintain the course in pristine condition.
RANT OVER.
 
I support your rant, I love doing it and find great pleasure in doing it, it shows that you have played a great towering shot.

Dont understand why people dont do the same.

I made a suggestion to GM to give one away with the magazine and run a feature on how to correctly repair them, didnt hear anything back?
 
Sorry HTL, but one of the posters on this forum DID show us how to repair pitch marks not so long ago. Can't remember which poster, but it may have been Parmo from Leeds.
 
I agree entirely. Our greens are not looking as good as they could due solely to pitch marks. Funnily enough the worst culprits are at either end of the scale. The juniors seem to think it is beneath them to go foraward and get their divots or replace their ptich marks, and the seniors seem to be just as bad.

Those between 25 and 65 at our club are usually quite diligent (of course these are generalisations and not all juniors or seniors are as bad). There are signs in the locker room showing how to repair pitch marks and they seem to be in every magazine on a 3-4 month interval so there is no excuse except laziness.

As a youngster I was brought up by a great bunch of adults who allowed me to play with them. There is no way they would let me get away without replacing divots or repairing pitch marks. I'm not sure juniors are the same these days. They all tend to go out together and so have no peers to teach them the etiquette and so they all fall into bad habits until they qualify to play in club competitions whereby their partners make them do what they should have been doing already.
 
I meant in the MAGAZINE shanker. We have ranted about pitch marks and the best repair methods before, I was just supporting rgs in his rant. This is a good place to vent.
 
I appreciate your rant....for sure.

It's an odd one and not always quite as it would seem. We have a great deal of divots a.t.m. and today I took a few but the gouged-out soil and turf was not in one bit and although I tried to patch it up, it was no good and I suspect that only deep bits (whole) are getting fixed???

As for greens, our's don't seem too bad. My personal method is to repair mine and if I can't find mine (or didn't make one) I'll do two others as punishment! I'd like to see other players repair one or two even if they've walked past theirs and then don't see it.
 
I follow that example, repair at least one pitch mark even if I cannot find my own.

As for divots, my club always has bags of earth and seed on certain tees to take and fill divots as you go so not only do I replace my own, I fill others as well.

To be honest, most members at our club seem very good in this regard.

Considering some of the comments about juniors though I will be intrigued to see the condition of the course following 4 days of a youth tournament.
 
I often despair when I see the condition of some of the fairways at my club.
Normally the fairways look their worst after a CLUB COMPETITION.

I honestly feel for the greenkeeper and his team. They must get a bit fed up of walking the course constantly filling and replacing divots.
The greens are generally excellent with only the odd pitchmark noticeable. Again, the worst times are during the club competitions when the pitchmarks can be plentiful.

I agree that it would be a brilliant idea to perhaps do a pitchmark repair feature in the mag along with a freebie pitchfork.

How's about it GM team?
 
We have introduced a scheme this year whereby one hole every 3-4 days has a divot tree with little bags of seed by the tee box which members are supposed to take and fill in any divots on the fairway as they play the whole and then deposit the (hopefully) empty bag ina clearly marked bin just off the green.

Sadly it is the same old faces who seem to do this regularly (usually those seniors who repair divots and pitch marks) whilst all the others make some comment about the bags being there and ignore them.

It is even worse if the divot bags are out at weekends where the once a week brigade come out. The % who do nothing is even higher and it is usually the weekenders who do the most moaning about the state of the course and the increase in membership fees
 
I think my record for repairing pitchmarks on one green is 23, there were virtually no lines on which one could putt, and over 100 in one round (late evening, no-one following and it was that sort of round).
This occurred just after a society had been through, but then there are societies and then there are . . .
It can also be bad after a competition round, after all Tiger doesn't replace his does he?
We don't have the sand bags, wish we did but then as Homer says, it would be same old faces
 
Totally agree rgs, i recently was invited for a game with my Pro at a really lovely course which is renown in the area for being a club which "well off" people tend to join and was horrified at the state of some of the beautiful greens. its a shame people cant be bothered to bend down and take time to do this simple 5 second task.
Andy
 
In South Africa you had to carry a small bag of sand and seed for divot repair, and it was frowned on if you replaced divots. It is a pity this practice isn't adopted here, as I am very unconvinced thay ever grow back (particularly in summer), even if the crows don't turn them over. Homers' course seems to be the only one I have heard of.
 
Just back from a trip to Phuket (some photos will follow to make you jealous soon!) and apart from caddies being compulsory, replacing divots was not allowed. The caddy repaired all pitch marks on the greens and it was noticeable that I don't think I saw a single pitchmark other than my own during the time. She also told me 'no' when I instinctively went to pick up my divot to replace it and instead produced a little shovel of seed and sand (I presumed) and filled the divot.

Seems to work given the condition of the courses...
 
I cannot abide those who choose not to repair pitchmarks. It is pure laziness and really gets on my nerves.

Funnily enough, from experiences I have had recently, it is those who are always ranting an raving about the course (the greens are too fast, the tee boxes are in need of cutting, the weeds, the flags are crap, etc etc etc) are the very people who treat the course with contempt.

I lost count of the amount of pitchmarks I repaired last night. I was leaving 1/2in deep pitchmarks on my decent shots and others were obviously doing the same but choosing not to repair theirs so I was doing 2-4 on most greens.

Whilst we are on a similar subject, what about those who dont deem it necessry to rake bunkers??? I see some pitiful sights on the course, least of all last weekend when I saw 2 juniors hacking out of a bunker in about 10 shots apiece and then just walking away leaving the bunker in an appaling state.
 
I love it when people complain the greens are too fast. As far as I am concerned, this is nearly impossible to achieve. I love fast greens. As long as they are true as well.

We don't suffer from pitch marks too badly, except when playing behind a society.

I play alot in the evening, when a low sun really highlights every little mark on the green, so I end up mending quite a lot that would be impossible to see during the height of the day. I don't necessarily blame anyone for not fixing them earlier, I just accept it for what it is.
 
I got to repair 3 (of my own) pitch marks today :-) A new personal best.

I have a habit of leaving 'skid marks' No divot to replace but a horrible scar. What is the best way to repair this. I play municipal courses so bags of sand and seed arn't supplied.
 
I love it when people complain the greens are too fast. As far as I am concerned, this is nearly impossible to achieve. I love fast greens. As long as they are true as well.
Click to expand...

I find that putting on a faster green is easier as you don't have to HIT the ball, you merely stroke it!

It means less can go wrong with your putting stroke as you put less effort into it!
 
Thought the greens would have been worse today given their softness following this weeks rain but to be fair most were in good knick. Don't know if that is because remedial work has been done for captains day tomorrow or we haven't had as much traffic this morning or the last few day.
 
I have a habit of leaving 'skid marks' No divot to replace but a horrible scar. What is the best way to repair this.
Click to expand...

Although at first I was horrified by your conduct on the course :eek:I know what you mean!

I assume just leaving the scraping as it is is the best way. Surely replacing cut up grass is of no use?
 
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